


Smile

by Thunderrrstruck



Series: Marvellous Daemons [2]
Category: His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman, Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Afghanistan, Alternate Universe - Daemons, Daemons, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Iron Man 1, Smile, emphasis on the comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:33:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23736907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thunderrrstruck/pseuds/Thunderrrstruck
Summary: Tony tries to comfort Yinsen, but somehow it's always the older and wiser who does the comforting. [Set in Afghanistan during Iron Man 1]
Relationships: Ho Yinsen & Original Daemon Character(s), Tony Stark & Ho Yinsen, Tony Stark & Original Daemon Character(s)
Series: Marvellous Daemons [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1708606
Kudos: 14





	Smile

**Author's Note:**

> More daemon!verse amusement. I lathered up the angst slightly thicker, but in true hurt/comfort fashion, I made sure the comfort is just as present. (As always, please leave a review!)

Tony clutches his bluebird close to his chest. Her feathers are a flutter with nerves. She doesn't like the cave, that much is obvious as the blue sky she emulates. As the terrorist leans in, boasting of the "pinnacle of human technology", Tony uses his free hand to cover her completely. She seems to relax – not all the way, but it works. It is enough for now.

The man passes by, and Tony's shoulders selfishly slump. The danger is gone from his immediate vicinity; he can afford to lose some stress. The terrorist's bat daemon hisses at Tony as its wings reach to maximum span. While the mechanic stands his ground, his poor bluebird heart – who still senses, being a part of him, even when she doesn't see – squeezes her little self into an even smaller, tighter ball.

They only properly relax when the man and his henchmen and all their snarling daemons leave. Despite the image of a scrunch-faced bat baring its fangs and boring its beady, black eyes, Tony mobilises himself to Yinsen. The man is shivering with his arms around his own daemon, a caramel-furred goat, and as Tony approaches, the goat stamps his feet nervously. Yinsen's hand slips down the caramel coat, reaches the lower back, and circles back to the top to stroke again. The goat's feet stop skittering, but its twitching tail signals that it will not trust the billionaire just because he is gentle in lowering himself to the ground.

"Yinsen," he says gently, but the man continues to take comfort exclusively from his daemon. _Which is fair enough_. "Hey. He's gone, that man's gone."

When Yinsen doesn't move, Tony settles himself completely on his knees. His weight falls with gravity onto his ankles and feet.

Ferrilia wants to move, so Tony releases his top hand and the bird-daemon shifts as she does before take off. With a few flaps of her wings, she makes it to his right shoulder, twists in a circle, and stares down her beak at the other man's daemon. The goat lifts his head in her direction; they hold their gazes parallel to their humans.

"Are you okay? They didn't do anything," Tony says, "right?"

"They tried," Yinsen replies, head still leaning against a leg of his worktable. There is a little twitch of his lips. Tony cannot understand why he smiles at a time like this, but it's infectious, and he finds himself returning the upwards twitch as if it is all the same.

"You're going to be fine," Tony decides. _Because he's still smiling_ , is his reason. Any man who smiles in the face of terror is as strong as steel. Stronger.

Tony realises why Yinsen smiles, holds his composure, and acts as civil as he can while captive (where it's too easy to fall feral) in an instance. He knows how terror works, and he knows how to beat it.


End file.
